Hatteberg and "Moneyball"

[redbuck]

In the book "Moneyball" there is a bunch of discussion about Scott Hatteberg and how of all the moves Billy Beane made, one of his favorite was ripping off the Red Sox in aquiring Scott Hatteberg. They cite his high OPS and high baseball IQ for reasons why Beane was so excited about getting him.

And now we have had the fortune of seeing this first hand this season. I love Hatteberg's game. Not a lot of power, but he has a quality at-bat almost every time up. And his .320 BA is not too shabby either, not that he will keep it going. But he is definitely a solid .300 hitter with some pop and plays a good defensive 1B.

My question is... after Hatteberg played so well in the AL for years, and after he was praised in the book Moneyball, how did he slip through the cracks and was still available a week before spring training started? And for cheap. Great move by Krivsky, but a really poor job by the other GMs during the offseason (including DanO) of not knowing what Hatteberg could bring to the table. Again, I don't expect him to always hit .320 with a .850 OPS, but he will be solid the rest of this year and next.

(Also a full chapter in there about Nick Swisher and how Beane loved getting him in the first round of the '02 draft... and how Beane hated drafting Jeremy Bonderman, hence the quick trade to Detroit... hey you win some and lose some.)

[kaldaniels]

The Hat had better be careful in the next few weeks, he could wind up leading the NL in BA!!! :thumbup:

[KronoRed]

His numbers last year were putrid, that's why he was available so late in the off season.

[RedsFanatic]

Hatteberg isn't a "sexy" hitter. He is more of a table setter without much speed. Like Krono mentioned, his numbers last year weren't very good at all. But this was a great signing, chalk me up as one that thought this was John Vander Wal part deux. With that said, I do think his numbers are inflated because he rarely faces left handed pitching and he doesn't play every day so he has the luxury of being able to stay fresh.

[jimbo]

With that said, I do think his numbers are inflated because he rarely faces left handed pitching and he doesn't play every day so he has the luxury of being able to stay fresh.

This is an excellent point that I think gets overlooked about Hatteberg quite a bit. I'm as big a fan of him as anyone and am glad he is a Red, but you have to take into consideration that he plays when the matchups favor him when you start talking about the numbers he is putting up this season. Having said that though, he has still been a great addition to the team and young hitters should take notes watching his discipline at the plate.

[Heath]

The Hat had better be careful in the next few weeks, he could wind up leading the NL in BA!!! :thumbup:

I don't know if his AB's will catch up. I foresee some RA at first more in the coming weeks -

[Phhhl]

Scott has some mileage on him. While his talents as a hitter were undervalued and exploited by Beane, it appears that even the A's believed that father time had stolen them and accounted for his poor 2005 season.

It's not unheard of that an older player realizes a renaissance when the game has given up on him. Wil Clark went to the Cardinals in his final season and produced two of the very best months of his entire career many moons ago.

GAB is very friendly to the skill set of Scott Hatteberg, and Oakland's ballpark was not. It was an extremely low-risk gamble by Krivsky that has paid tremendous dividends. Wayne has been excellent in making low-risk moves for guys like Hatteberg, Phillips, Guardado and Cormier. However, his "biggest" acquisitions came at such a heavy price that it's difficult to see the "big picture".

[fisch11]

Scott Hatteberg=Plate Discipline/Patience. Underrated by far.

[Johnny Footstool]

He "slipped through the cracks" because he is 36 and coming off two pretty bad seasons -- .787 OPS in 2004 and .677 in 2005.

Funny you should mention "Moneyball," because there's a chapter about Hatteberg learning first base and not doing very well. His coach calls him "Pickin' Machine" to boost his confidence. Ironically, I think many people misunderstood and took that nickname literally, and that's how he got his reputation as a good defender.